Three seconds. That is how long someone gives your site before deciding whether to wait or close the tab. If yours takes six to show the menu, that customer is already on a competitor's page and probably will not come back. Speed is not a developer's obsession: it is the first impression of your business.
Why a slow website costs you customers
A slow website never shows up on an invoice, but you pay for it all the same. Every extra second of load time reduces the chance that someone does what you want them to do: call, fill in the form or read the menu.
And it is not only about patience. Google also measures page experience: real-world speed on mobile, layout stability and how quickly the first tap responds. A site that loads in two seconds on your laptop can take five on a phone with patchy signal on the beach in Fuengirola.
The real causes of a slow website
It is rarely "the hosting" on its own. These are the ones we see again and again on local business sites.
| Cause | What you notice | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Huge uncompressed photos | The hero takes ages to appear | Resize and use WebP |
| Too many fonts and scripts | Text jumps while loading | One or two fonts, deferred scripts |
| A template with twenty plugins | Slow, especially on mobile | Remove what is not used |
| Overloaded shared hosting | Stutters at peak times | Caching and, if needed, a better plan |
What to measure and what to ignore
Measure mobile
Most local traffic comes from phones. Check the mobile version with a simulated network, not your home fibre.
Watch the largest element
It is usually the hero image. If that image is slow, the visitor sees an empty page even when everything else is ready.
Ignore the score on its own
A 95 paired with a hero that takes five seconds is useless. What matters is what the user sees.
Test on real data
Open your site on a phone, outside the office, on mobile data, searching for yourself the way a customer would. That is the honest test.
Fast does not mean ugly
There is a stubborn idea that going fast means giving up design. It is not true: a well-built static site can have smooth animations, large photos and careful typography without half a second per effect.
The trick is deciding what deserves weight. A 4 MB image for a decorative background is an unnecessary luxury; a sharp, well-compressed product photo is an investment. Choosing well is design, not just engineering.
When a rebuild is worth it
- If your site takes more than four seconds on mobile: the problem is already costing visits and deserves a serious review.
- If every change needs someone else: a site you cannot touch ages badly, and old-looking sites cost trust.
- If it is not truly responsive: "it fits" on a phone is not enough; it has to be usable with one thumb.
- If the design does not reflect your level: a 2015 layout with generic stock photos undermines a business that works well.
At Solaris the Basic site is €180 + VAT (one page) and the Professional €350 + VAT (up to five pages, no shop), usually delivered in 5 to 7 working days. An online shop is €450 + VAT. We build without extra plugins, with optimised images and mobile first.
Why Solaris
We publish fixed prices and explain what each thing does. If your current site works but runs slow, we can also tell you what we would fix first without rebuilding everything: sometimes the problem is one image, not a new project.